Austal has introduced a new artificial intelligence (AI) technology for ship hull prototype development.
DeepMorpher software offers more comprehensive design options and reduced resource requirements for complex hull optimization projects.
The capability also reportedly enables the company to achieve shorter timelines and enhance productivity in associated design and engineering services.
“DeepMorpher allows us to efficiently investigate and optimise (conceptually) different hull forms beyond those in our traditional product range,” Austal Australia Development Hydrodynamics Specialist Max Haase explained.
“It reduces our reliance on domain expertise and enables greater focus on maximising outcomes based on key customer requirements.”
DeepMorpher in Other Applications
Alongside its primary utility on ship hull forms, the DeepMorphere can be employed to optimize arbitrary shapes for other maritime, aerospace, and related engineering efforts.
“Artificial intelligence and machine learning has broadened and accelerated our optimisation process, delivering greater options, more quickly for our customers,” Haase stated.
“With the support of high performance computing provider DUG Technology, we can reduce the timeframe for hull form optimisation in conjunction with computational fluid dynamics by an order of magnitude.”
Technical advantages and additional benefits of the DeepMorpher approach were further showcased in a study released by Haase.
It was published in the Journal of Engineering, titled “DeepMorpher: deep learning-based design space dimensionality reduction for shape optimisation.”